Consulting Swordsman
A recurring theme in my life is a contact from someone who narrowly missed a seminar with me in some far-flung outpost because they didn’t know it was happening. So let me take a minute of your time to let you know about two events coming up in the Pacific North West: This weekend, April … Read more
Armour of the English Knight, 1400-1450 is the best book on the subject of armour that I have ever read. I bought it last week at the Wallace Collection museum shop, and was simply blown away. I’m not really an armour man; I prefer fighting out of armour, but I bought this book because I … Read more
Audatia is now available on the Steam platform tabletop simulator! Probably the best thing about creating Audatia, the medieval swordfighting card game, is the way it inspires its players. You may have seen this beyond-awesome fan-made trailer which perfectly represents the spirit and intent of the game: You can find the rules in Spanish, French and Russian … Read more
Back in the bad old days I used to have to choose between swinging swords and working. Every time I picked up a sword, my wrists would swell up and my hands would be useless. It was hell. Then I met a kung-fu instructor, Num, who in 20 agonising minutes fixed my wrists. And in the … Read more
Introducing beginners to the Art of Arms is a privilege and a pleasure. Over the years I have developed a gentle approach to getting people started, based on the following principles: Beginners’ courses should be funnels, not filters. They should entice people in, and seduce them to the art, not hold up artificial barriers to … Read more
I was expecting to be far more nostalgic about seeing Helsinki again after nine months away. It’s by far the longest time I’ve been absent from my city since 2001. There are changes here and there- most excitingly perhaps a bespoke shoemaker has opened a workshop near Kamppi. Good thing I’ve been too busy to … Read more
Today is an auspicious day. It marks the 16th anniversary of the founding of my School, with my first demonstration class held in a small training hall inside the Olympic Stadium. One of the greatest challenges from the beginning was that the people who are most interested in the training I have to offer are … Read more
I employ freelancers a lot, for artwork, layout, editing, copywriting, sword-making and all sorts of things. Basically, anything I need to get done but lack the skills to do myself. In the light of the recent grotesque Fiverr advert, a platform that connects freelancers with clients (like me- I found the person who transcribes my … Read more
One fencing manual above all has a special place in my heart. I found Donald McBane’s The Expert Sword-man’s Companion from 1728 in the National Library of Scotland back in the early nineties, and persuaded my University tutor to let it onto the course she was teaching. My essay “The Gallant Pander” was in truth the … Read more
I have just created a syllabus for creating a syllabus. You read that right. The end product of my Recreate Historical Swordsmanship from Historical Sources course is a complete syllabus for the style of swordsmanship that you are researching. You can see the spiffy video intro here: https://youtu.be/zYMBassGxJ8 I created this course because many people have difficulty … Read more